Redevelopment
by Flowery Essence
Summary: Yoko has been on the throne for 85 years and the kingdom of Kei is slowly improving, this is Yoko's POV on her progress so far... eventual YokoXKeiki pairing...
1. Prolouge

Chapter One: Queen Kei

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms; this is just a bit of fun!_

My name is Yoko Nakajima, you see I used to live as an ordinary school student in Japan, I was an honour student and no matter what I did I only wanted to make all those around me happy so, if you like in many ways I was fake.

Until I met Keiki, he's a Kirin which brought me to the world of the twelve kingdoms and to the kingdom of Kei which I have now ruled for almost 85 years! A lot of regeneration and rebuilding of the kingdom had to be done; even now I've still no where near finished, ok I'll start at the beginning…

"Your majesty, we really need to do something about Shoko and his crime" Keiki said

"Yes, I have decided" I replied

The court gasped "You have?" the ministers cried in unison

I nodded "I want to avoid execution by any means necessary so, I have simply decided to fire him and order him to live as an ordinary citizen of Gyoten"

"That's fine, but what are we going to do about the new chief of Wa province, the residents of Sheiswei are looking to you to choose a new minister for them" Suzu said

"I have, Rakushun will you assume the former position of Shoko?" I replied looking kindly at Rakushun

"Me your majesty? Are you sure you want to give such an important job like that to me?" Rakushun asked gob smacked

"You'll make a great chief, the people will love you, I'm sure of it" I smiled.

That was how last Wednesday morning conference was concluded, I appointed Rakushun as the chief of Wa province and well, he appears to be doing great!

Even after 85 years there is still so much I need to learn about being a ruler, I mean I must be doing ok right? Keiki's not mentioned anything he's concerned about and well…the ministers and people seem to be happy so I must be doing ok…

_**Authors Notes: **__What did you think? Should I continue? Should I stop? Please review and let me know what you think!_


	2. Problems

Chapter Two: Problems

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms, this is just a bit of fun!_

One of the biggest problems I had encountered was the problem of regenerating the land, especially for farmland and housing, to be honest I wanted to increase the amount of land permitted to locals even if by just a few metres.

"Your majesty?"

"Oh, good morning Keiki how is everyone?"

"We're fine, is there something the matter? Suzu said you looked troubled earlier" Keiki asked, it wasn't what he asked which had surprised me it was the concern in his voice, I mean Keiki is normally so harsh and stubborn, but this was a completely new side,

"Well, now that you ask yes there is, you see a while ago I was speaking with Enho, he told me of the little land space people have to build their homes and of the risk they take when growing crops, you know the risk of natural disaster" I replied

"What he told you is true however, what is it you wish to do about it?" Keiki asked

I thought about this for a moment, I had acknowledged the problem, but I hadn't come up with a solution, once again I needed help, just then Suzu came in along with Shokei,

"Your majesty? Do you wish to increase the permitted land space?" Shokei asked

I nodded, "I'd also like to do a bit more to prevent flooding and other natural disaster so people's food supply is more secure" I replied

"But your majesty please take into account that each town is of different sizes and not all of them have access to these defence barriers" Keiki pointed out

"Really?"

"Yes"

Another obstacle, I knew trying to rebuild the kingdom was going to be a difficult task, but I never expected so many problems to hit at once.

Shokei must of seen that once again I was about to cry and put her arm around me,

"Crying won't solve anything, come on we'll all come up with ways to overcome this, we'll think of a solution…don't worry" Shokei smiled

_**Authors Notes: **__I hope that chapter was of a good standard or average at least any reviews are welcome!_


	3. Solutions

Chapter Three: Solutions 

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms, this is just a bit of fun!_

"Shokei's right, we'll come up with something!" Suzu said cheerfully

"Why don't we employ some of the residents to build barriers and defence mechanisms, they may be poor but some may be good at building…might earn themselves a little money as well" Shokei suggested, that's when it hit me

"Shokei has a good point, Keiki what is the current number of Kou refugees in Kei?" I asked

"I don't know the _exact _number, but I do know there are many of them, and many more will be arriving shortly as well I suppose" Keiki replied

"Perfect! Shokei, you were saying about employing people to do building work"

"Yeah so?"

"Okay, why not speak with the refugees of Kou about this new plan, ask if anyone is any good at building then we could ask them if they wouldn't mind building the barriers for good money" I smiled

"Great! That way everyone wins, the refugees will earn enough to find themselves a home, people would be able to build bigger and better hoes with a reduced risk of losing their food supply" Suzu replied, Shokei nodded her head in agreement but Keiki seemed unsure,

"Keiki please, it'll be fine besides wouldn't this be the more 'compassionate' thing to do, I mean think about it I'm keeping my people happy by making their environment bigger and safer and I'm helping the less fortunate people of Kou by offering them a job which will hopefully allow them to stand on their own two feet again…it'll be fine…trust me" I said

After a moments silence Keiki smiled "Ok your majesty, I will speak with the refugees and then report back to you and inform you of what they said"

"Thank you Keiki"

"Is it me, or has the Kirin become soft when speaking to you?" Suzu teased

"No, stop it you two"

* * *

"Majesty?" Keiki lowered his head

"What is it and I told you to stop bowing"

"Sorry, good news I was able to gather forty of the refugees who agreed to build very weak shelters, none of them were skilled enough to build anything stronger" Keiki said

"That's fine, it's better than nothing particularly in areas with no defence" I replied

"Oh well at least we've done something right by the people of Kei and the refugees" Suzu smiled

"At least now those forty volunteers will have a safer future now" Shokei agreed

"Come on you three, let's have some dinner, I think we all deserve it after today" I laughed

* * *

_**Authors Notes: **__The second of Yoko's problems have been resolved, she's quite good at this XD, oh well the next chapter will be more about the romance between Yoko and Keiki so until then!_


	4. Feelings

Chapter Four: Feelings 

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms, this is just a bit of fun!_

_**Authors Notes: **__As I've said before this chapter is YokoxKeiki, it's changed from Yoko's POV to Keiki's but that's only for this chapter, enjoy!_

It's true what they say you know, about how quick time goes. It only seems like yesterday when I travelled to Hourai and came back with Yoko, my first impressions of her as a ruler were…lets just say I had many doubts, I often found myself asking, Did I choose another one like Yo-ou? Will she bring hope or destruction to the kingdom of Kei? I just wasn't sure.

No, Yoko is different, she's very different in many ways, she doesn't seem the type to fall in love easily she's independent, courageous also she appears to be willing to listen, not just to me or her ministers but to her people and that's not all she's willing to fight, to fight with her people rather than cower and hide in the palace rooms all day, everyday.

She's an interesting person, she's kind and harsh, sweet and sour, sometimes I wonder if she was born with a split personality…but then again maybe that was what made me fall for her, I noticed these kind of feelings were beginning to stir when she made her first proclamation, when she stopped us bowing before her, whether it was purely out of compassion or she just felt uncomfortable with it I'll never know.

I really don't know what to do, would it be okay for me to confess? Or is it best to keep my feelings hidden? Besides I'm a Kirin, she's the queen, once one becomes a ruler their thoughts, feelings and general interests are to their kingdom mainly, that's why _almost _every ruler is unmarried, that's why you hardly ever hear of there being a king _and _queen of a kingdom.

Well I think that's enough tomorrow Yoko wanted me to accompany her when going to Gyoten, she told me that she wanted to see for herself the progress the refugees were making in building the defences, she also said she wanted to thank them personally, she wanted to pay each of them right there and then the money they had earned. Like I said she is impossible sometimes, highly independent and dare I say stubborn at times – but its all out of kindness, and I guess this is Yoko's way of being compassionate – strange though it is.

* * *

_**I apologize for the chapter being incredibly short, but that's how I intended =D Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter, did it make sense? And should I continue the romance between Yoko and Keiki in later chapters? Chapter Five will be more action so until then!**_


	5. Confession

Chapter Five – Confession

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms, this is just a bit of fun!_

_**Authors Notes: **__So chapter 5 is finally up! Sorry about the wait I was suffering from writers block and a load of homework, anyway enjoy!_

* * *

So, after much preparation we were finally ready to go! I had requested that I go to Gyoten and see for myself the progress the Kou refugees were making in their building work, I also intended to eventually reveal myself as the queen of Kei… I wanted to thank them personally.

"Your majesty, we are ready to go now, how are we getting there?" Shokei asked

"We've got no choice but to fly on a youma, Keiki can't be seen in his Kirin form so he's also going as a commoner, he and I are using his shirei, you will ride with me and Suzu can ride with Keiki" I replied

"Okay, but won't they still find us out, I mean not many people ride youma?"

"No, but some are able to, therefore they will see us as those which are able to tame youma".

We were eventually able to leave Kinpa palace each of us were dressed appropriately and were riding on the back of a youma, there was no possible way we could be found out like this. It was surprisingly easy to get there, the sky was of a deep blue with barely a cloud in sight and the wind speeds were…some what very low for the winter.

"What is the matter Taiho?" Suzu asked

"Nothing, why do you ask?" Keiki replied

Suzu giggled "No reason, its just you keep staring at her majesty"

I looked round to see that Suzu was still giggling, but when I asked her and Keiki what was so funny, they both replied "nothing"

"Look over there, it's Gyoten" Shokei cried

"We've arrived already? That was incredibly good timing, ok everyone prepare to land" I said.

After exploring the small city of Gyoten properly I could see the amount of poverty, though not as much as before, there was here, I mean people had enough for decent food and some kind of shelter but they were still lacking in other vital things,

"Keiki, are those the refugees over there?" I asked

"Yes" Keiki replied eventually, I don't what's been the matter with Keiki lately but he seems awfully quiet. There were roughly between thirty or forty men all of which were in a terrible state, messy hair, very poor quality clothing and really quite thin, yet they seemed to be working ever so hard,

"Excuse me sir, but may we ask what you are doing?" I asked one of the men

"We are building a flood defence for her majesty, the queen of Kei, we were told it had to be built quickly…we were also promised some money as well" The man replied cheerfully

"How is it going?" Shokei asked

"It's going well, it's not the best of things, the materials are really poor quality but its all we could afford, besides it is better than nothing"

"It's likely to be finished by midday tomorrow, you can come see it then if you'd like, of course then there's the problem of informing her majesty" another man said

"Don't worry, I am a good friend of her majesty, I will be sure to inform her of the completed barrier" Suzu smiled,

"We'll leave you alone to get on with your work now, so we'll see you midday tomorrow" I said eventually leaving the refugees to get on with their work.

"I find it impressive how quickly the men were able to build the barriers and with limited low quality materials" I smiled

"I know the barriers look great!" Shokei cried

* * *

Once we had arrived back to Kinpa palace we had nothing more to do, Suzu and Shokei were probably around the palace somewhere and I was in my room just, daydreaming…until Keiki came in, he looked pale and well not himself…

"Your majesty, may I speak with you?" Keiki asked sheepishly

I nodded

"There is…something I wish to…tell you"

"Okay"

Keiki sat at my bedside and sighed "I…I've…your majesty I"

"What's the matter, just say it Keiki" I said, to be honest I wanted Keiki back to his normal self, it seemed strange when he's soft and sentimental,

"Your majesty…I love you!"

_**Authors Notes: **__A rather strange ending…what did you think? I tried to increase the word count, though not by 1000_ _but longer than usual, well please review and let me know if you want more _


	6. Hope

Chapter Six: Hope

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms; this is just a bit of fun!_

_**Authors Notes: **__Hey! Sorry for the long wait, I've had a lot of studying to do, after this chapter I may decide to put this story on hold for a while so I can decide if and how I'm going to continue with it but for now, enjoy chapter six_

* * *

"Yoko, I'm in love with you!" Keiki said finally, I almost jumped in shock

"Where did that come from all of a sudden…Keiki are you feeling alright?" I replied, I didn't understand a bit why he was acting so strangely, had he been possessed by some kind of youma?

"Nothing's the matter your majesty, it's just incredibly hard when one has to tell another how they feel, I'm physically ok though" Keiki reassured me.

I didn't know what to do, say or think I mean, not once had anyone told me they loved me, let alone saying it with such sincerity,

"As much as I appreciate and are flattered by how much you care about me, I have a kingdom to run, I've got enough responsibility as it is…I'm sorry but I cannot return your feelings" I said looking away,

Keiki said nothing, as stubborn and as cold as he may portray himself to be, it seemed that this time…this time he was genuinely hurt by my reply.

"Your majesty are we ready to go?" Shokei asked

"Yes, will Suzu mind once again riding with Keiki and you with me?" I replied

"No problem, I'll get the youma ready right away!"

Once again the sky was of a perfect blue and there was hardly any wind, Keiki said nothing to anyone the whole journey, was I a bit too cold with him?

* * *

"Wow! These defences look great!" I cried, the men looked embarrassed

"Thanks, but they're not really that great, I mean we tried our best but…"

"They're fine honestly, here is the payment for your work and the queen sends her personal message of thanks" I smiled

"Your welcome, may we ask the pretty lady and her friends their names" the leader asked

"This is Suzu, Shokei, Keiki and I…I am known as Sekishi" I replied

The men looked at us in shock and disbelief,

"Sekishi? But you can't possibly be her majesty can you?"

Keiki stepped forward removing his beige cloak and revealing his true identity "The young lady here is the queen of Kei herself and I, am the Kei Taiho" he said

The men seemed to fall to their knees

"Your majesty, we are truly honoured by your presence and thank you for providing the Kou refugees with food and a place to stay"

"Would you please stand? It's law in this country not to bow down to anyone, including me" I explained politely.

That was the last thing either of us said before heading back to Kinpa palace, what Keiki told me this morning still disturbed me why would someone with such a harsh personality as Keiki say something like that if he didn't mean it? And was my reply completely true? It only occurred to me a few moments ago but maybe Keiki's feelings are returned…but…no, my duty is to Kei…that is and should be my main focus.

* * *

_**Authors notes: **__As I said, I may decide not to continue if I can't find a way to go from here, thank you for reading and let me know if I should stop or not or if its boring or whatever _


	7. IMPORTANT!

**IMPORTANT!!**

Dear readers,

After giving it much thought I have decided not to finish this story, this is due to various reasons including writers block, homework and revision and simply because I think its become boring and straying of the plot I had intended for this story, Please take note that this is still not set in stone so, if I come up with a way to continue I will!

I would like to thank all the people who have taken the time to read, review and give feedback on my story, I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused, I'm sorry if I have to have ruined the story in recent chapters but your time and effort is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks again

Clear as snow


	8. Choices

Chapter Eight: Choices 

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Twelve Kingdoms, this is just a bit of fun!_

_**Authors Notes: **__It's been a long time since I've done anything with this story, but I am determined to get it finished, this chapter is different from previous one's...but I hope you enjoy!___

* * *

Two days ago, I received a letter, it was from Mount Hou, it read:

Dear her majesty of Kei,

We are writing to inform you that we have decided to allow you, and only you the choice of remaining here in Kei or you can go back to your home in Hourai, if you do choose to go home please be aware that there will be no punishment for anyone however, Kei will remain in its current position until a new ruler is found, It's entirely up to you…

From the people of Mount Hou.

To be honest when I first read the letter, I didn't know what to do…I mean I knew It wasn't a fake and that the people of Hou are genuine and they themselves had obviously not taken the decision lightly…so I decided to speak to Keiki about it

"Hey, Keiki can I have a word with you for a moment" I asked

Keiki stared at me for a while, "What is it your majesty?" he sighed

I showed him the letter, I saw his eyes widen and his breath got seemingly heavier,

"This…can't be right…" he said finally

"You have made your vows, if you were to return to Hourai, the heavens…well they'd punish the both of us…why would they suddenly change that…for anyone?"

"I don't know, but I really cannot see them lying to us can you?" I asked

Keiki shook his head, "No, they wouldn't, as what's been stated in the letter, the choice is yours however, I would really like it if you stayed here in Kei…with me…and it's not just for the kingdom's sake either"

I knew what he was saying, he didn't want me to leave because he was still in love with me…and me with him, I've also grown to love and care about Kei just as Enho had said, what am I supposed to do?

I went to speak with Suzu and Shokei about my dilemma and they both said the same thing as Keiki, that although it was my choice they would like it if I stayed as queen of Kei, I then went to speak with Rakushun and my other ministers, you can guess they all said the exact same thing…

What do I do? I missed Japan and my parents, but I can't just abandon my people…I mean they all trust and look up to me now…

* * *

_**Authors Notes: **__Do you think this is just dragging on the story without a point now? Or is it ok and I should continue? Please let me know! Thanks!_


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